Many non-traditional students think that because they graduated from high school long ago, they are not eligible for financial aid. But students at DuBois campus are trying to change that.

"Many non-traditional students are not getting aid because they are not aware of how much financial aid is available," Diane Murray, a three-year member of the DuBois campus Terrific Non-Traditionals Club, said.

Mary Rita Brown, club president, defined non-traditional students as students who do not attend college immediately after high school and may need to pay for special services such as child care.

"They're basically anyone who does not fit into the traditional norm," Brown (junior-labor industrial relations) said.

"Many of the scholarships don't ask the questions that would make them available to the non-traditional student," she said. "We are trying to get businesses to revamp some of their scholarships so they would recognize non-traditionals."

Murray (senior-human development and family studies) also said many non-traditional students think they can only get financial aid from federal or state grants and are not aware of other financial aid choices.

"They think because they're not part of a certain age group or organization they're not eligible," she said. "This is not the case."

Murray has worked for over three years to compile a 30-page booklet listing about 250 sources of federal, state and private loans, scholarships and grants. Most information came from magazines, newspapers and several local high schools, she added.

The booklet is broken down into several categories, classified by type of degree and location, including scholarships for men and women and general scholarships for academic talent or leadership.

Murray said although most financial aid is geared toward the traditional student, society is taking notice that more non-traditionals are going back to school.

"I stress that if it says it's for high school seniors, apply anyway," Murray said. Many organizations are very receptive regardless of the applicant's age, she added.

"If you don't try to knock down barriers, they are always going to be there," she said. "In this case age is a barrier, it may not be intentional, but it still exists."

Murray said she has applied for a copyright for the booklet.

"By the time I'm done it's going to be about 50 pages," she said. Murray said she will try to get a grant to print it and then begin to market it nationally.

Each year, for a small fee, updated information would be sent to organizations using the booklet so the information will always be current, she added.

"A lot of the information changes so fast," she said. "I always have to keep checking my sources and rechecking addresses."

Murray said a new addition to the scholarship guide will be scholarships available for graduate degrees.

"I've done this out of interest because recently I applied to graduate school," she said.